Speculation arose this week that Kroger, the Ohio-based grocery giant, might return to Florida after a real estate affiliate acquired Delray Commons in Delray Beach in two transactions totaling $17 million. Kroger, a publicly traded company headquartered in Cincinnati, operates about 2,800 grocery stores nationwide. But it ended its grocery store presence in Florida in the late 1980s.

Enter Lucky’s, the Colorado-based purveyor of natural and organic food that signed a “strategic partnership” agreement with Kroger in 2016. The deal was designed to help Lucky’s expand its operations with Kroger’s help.

“I can confirm there will be a new Lucky’s Market there,” Krista Torvick, Lucky’s head of communications, said of the Delray Commons location. “We have plans to open additional stores in the [South Florida] area as well.

“We have Boca Raton and West Boca and Dania Beach and Cooper City in the next 12 to 24 months. The summer and fall of 2019 might be a busy time for Lucky’s.”

Lucky’s typically employs around 150 employees in each of its stores, Torvick said. So the proposed expansion raises the prospect of 750 new job openings at Lucky’s in Broward and Palm Beach counties over the next two years..

Founded in 2003 by two chefs, Trish and Bo Sharon, in Boulder, Colo., Lucky’s has evolved into a 30-store chain in 11 states. Its mission is to serve food lovers like the Sharons who want “organic, natural and local foods sold at affordable prices with genuine personal service,” according to a company statement.

Each store covers about 30,000 square feet, with much of the space devoted to the produce department. “We have a really big initiative right now to stock as much local produce that’s available,” Torvick said.

Under the partnership agreement with Lucky’s, Kroger “made a meaningful investment in Lucky’s, which will significantly accelerate Lucky’s Market’s growth in new and existing markets,” the two companies said when they announced their arrangement two years ago.

And now, that expansion appears to be coming to fruition in South Florida.